University of Hawai’i men’s basketball head coach Eran Ganot was the recipient of the 2016 Red Auerbach College Coach of the Year Award as selected by members of the Jewish Coaches Association (JCA).Ganot was one of six finalists along with Akron’s Keith Dambrot, Northwest Florida State College’s Steve DeMeo, St. Francis’ Ryan Marks, Fort Lewis College’s Bob Pietrack, and Lincoln Memorial’s Josh Schertz.In 2010 the JCA named its college coach of the year award after Auerbach, the coaching legend who won 938 games (a record at his retirement) and nine National Basketball Association (NBA) championships as a coach. As general manager and team president of the Celtics, he won an additional seven NBA titles, for a grand total of 16 in a span of 29 years, making him one of the most successful team officials ever in the history of professional sports.

Ganot, a native of Tenafly, N.J., is still a finalist for three other awards by CollegeInsider.com – Jim Phelan Award (nation’s top Division I coach), Hugh Durham Award (nation’s top mid-major coach), and Joe B. Hall Award (nation’s top rookie Division I coach).

In his first season at UH, Ganot led the Rainbow Warriors to the Big West regular season and tournament title; a NCAA Tournament appearance; the program’s first NCAA Tournament win; and was named the Big West’s Coach of the Year.